9 posts tagged “sutton creek”
It was a stellar week-end. Friday - date night, great night, steak night with the husband. We watched DVR'd shows and relaxed. Always the highlight of every week-end.
Saturday we played with Kiks and Jim in 'Barry and Brian's Brutalization Season Closer' at Sutton Creek. We played the course backwards. It was so cool to really have to 'think' and consider each shot. The tee boxes were in sand traps, on hills, behind trees, and sometimes completely blind. From #2 green we had to hit over golfers on #8 green, and between golfers on #7 green and others teeing off the on #7 to #6 green hole. Complicated! Scary! Awesome!
The pin placements were HARD! 2 greens were tee boxes (putting through fur) and on #7 the best bet was to putt past the hole and let it (hopefully) roll back in (which we did!). So cool. They gave us chili and Sambucca on the turn and had an fantastic buffet set out for us after. What a freakin' fun day - that is why I love Sutton Creek!
Kiks teeing off on the 10th fairway heading for the 18th green. Weird!
William from the 10th fairway to the 18th green.
Jim hitting from a crazy tee box.
Teeing off from the sand.
The keeper of the Sambucca.
Smallest! Furriest! Green! Ever! - Normally the #12 ladies tee box.
On Sunday Billy went golfing with a couple of guys - the weather was too nice to resist - I stayed at home and helped out my mom with a few things, watched some football and ventured over to MomG's for dinner.
Great week-end.
Yesterday Kiks and I ventured to Sutton Creek to golf 9 holes and have lunch (have to make the monthly minimum you see...) It was a balmy 39*F when I removed myself from the warm comfort of the car, and with my three upper and two lower layers of clothes, I hauled my bag around the corner in preparation to freeze my butt off for 2 hours.
It wasn't as bad as we expected. The front nine was well protected from the wind, and I actually shot below my handicap - amazing as the greens were recently aerated and dressed and I putted like a donkey. Kiks and I had a good time as per usual, but I was looking forward to lunch inside.
When we went inside, I was surprised to see 4 or 5 ladies from our league - but, it was Wednesday (our normal golf day, but the league ended weeks ago) and I know that many members struggle to make their minimums in the month of October.
A few more ladies trickled in, and I felt a little down, as no one emailed Kim or myself regarding this impromptu luncheon... then I realized... they were here for me.
The co-captain was in England for the banquet and apparently felt bad that I didn't receive a more formal 'thank you' for the completion of the captain duties... so there we were, I was very surprised, happy and felt appreciated. It meant a lot to me that so many ladies made the effort to come out to the Creek on a cold day to express their thanks. Kiks is the master secret keeper.
I was given a very personal, touching gift - a reusable grocery bag with 3 bottles of wine... how did they know? LG2 also gave me another bottle ('cause she's nice like that...).
So awesome... I'm so lucky and of course life is good.
Well, well, well... I've been a fairly productive LG for the last few days... I've cleaned out the garden, the pond, and yesterday I switched out all the summer clothes for the winter clothes. It took a lot longer than I thought (hours really), but I have about 2 bags for donation and about the same amount of clothes will fulfill their dust rag destiny, (as soon as I get the good scissors from my mom). Still to do: clean out the garage, put up the fall decorations, and clean the b'junk off the windows casings.
Exciting life isn't it?
Hm!
I've been invited to play in a tournament on the 17th, which is awesome. It's match play format with me representing the 'Essex County Ladies' versus the 'Kent County Ladies'. It's in Blenheim
and I've only played that course twice, but I remember it to be quite nice. This invitation makes me feel good, as initially I my name was given by a woman whom I really like and respect, and it makes me happy that she thought of me. I'm sure at times we all feel lost in the crowd and unable to please, so it's good to be thought of now and then.
Today I'm having lunch with KT and SuprT, then I'm attending a board meeting at SC - I'm not sure (no one is really) if I can serve on the board or not. If not, that's fine - but it was nice to be nominated, (by one of the owners, part of the management team no less) as she must think (or at least have thought) that I could be helpful to the operation of SC. If I'm able to serve I'll have to be certain to mention her, and all the little people, in my acceptance speech.
Good God, I hope you know I'm joking.
There is not too much going on this week-end which is rather nice. It's been great having people over the last couple of weeks, but if William and I are alone this week-end I certainly won't be upset. Either way, I'm happy.
Let me check, yep, life is gooooood.
It's been a little busy here lately...
Thursday:
I attended the General Meeting at Sutton Creek. Very informative. There are some great people at SC, and I had some good laughs (Marcello is convinced if they bring back the players that have passed away play time will increase dramatically... the goal should be living people joining the membership - brilliant).
Friday:
I didn't feel too hot after consuming one too many glasses of vino at the meeting, but was able to get the house sort of cleaned. Glo ball, which is my favorite golfing event of the year, was Friday night, and I spent the afternoon in bed with a migraine. Rats. Ah well.
Saturday:
Sunday Open On A Saturday - it was a good format pairing A and D players in a scramble format combining the scores of the B and C players, also playing a scramble. We came in fourth, and I won closest to the pin on #13 (amazing as I rarely hit that green - it was against the wind, so I had to use my driver to reach the back of the green - about 160 yards... that's pathetic, but oh well...). It was most fun.
Later that afternoon Kiks and Jim came over for a prime rib dinner, and were joined by a couple of guys from SC. Around 10pm the big event started - M vs. N - a Wii tennis battle for the ages. Nick tried to psych Billy out by wearing a Marino jersey, but Billy replied with his own jersey and hat. Nick won, but somehow the trophy is on our mantle - blocking my hole in one ball btw - I get no respect!
Some spectators:
The challenge:
The trophy:
Nick brought over a waitress from SC and her friend and Link. Us girls spent a little time in the hot tub, but it was warm outside, so we thought it wise to play Passout (25th anniversary edition, released in 1986 - meanwhile the two girls were born in 1989... how weird is that?) around 1am, and yes we were successful in making a young girl pass out. It was a proud moment... okay, not really, but fun nonetheless. I have never seen so many drinks spilled in one night. Jim was our booze runner and constantly at the ready with multiple towels. Good times.
Although we didn't get to bed until after 4am, the 'kids' were up around 8am looking for coffee, and William pulled himself from the comfort of our bed to comply (we grind - they would never have had success). I was feeling less than 100%, and spent most of the day in bed - Billy cleaned the house, thank God. I missed dinner at MomG's, but did a few things around the house, and watched a little football and some DVR'd shows.
Lessons:
- Don't drink so much
- Get some sleep
- Enjoy every sweet minute of life
I guess I should have prefaced yesterday's post by saying that nothing specific of a rude nature happened to inspire such a crusty post. I was just working with the scorecards and realized that once those cards are left on the table, they are never considered again - except by me.
Ah well.
Also, I should simply tell the 'powers that be' that certain jobs are not in the realm of score keeping... but again it comes down to: at least I know it's done and done right, it saves someone else the hassle (they probably have a truly busy life), and I can handle it if someone questions what I've done.
I am planning on passing over the ringer board. That will save me about an hour of transferring and adding the numbers to a clean board.
This week-end is going to be great! Steak dinner and watch some DVR'd shows on Friday, then the Club Championship all week-end. I could go on and on about that, but not today. The weather will be fantastic, the company good, and life in general is wonderful.
This week has flown by! I've been pretty busy with golf stuff (18 hole league, 9 hole league and the tournament) and getting ready to go down to TN next week. Some girls came over on Wednesday night to watch a couple of episodes of The Real Housewives of New Jersey (those chicks are whacked!), and the party at Kiks' on Tuesday was a big success. Once again, I'd like to acknowledge that I have amazing friends and I'm really lucky for all the people in my life.
I'm cleaning the house right now, although it's in pretty decent shape... this afternoon we're golfing with Revenue Canada John and his Revenue Canada wife, which should be most fun. I posted my best score ever at Sutton Creek on Wednesday (an 89 - really good for me!) during the ladies 18 hole league, and I'll looking forward to see if my recent good scores (two 91s last week) are a fluke or if in fact I have gained some skills. Skills are good.
Tomorrow I'm golfing with Kiks in the afternoon to get some play aheads in, then steak night, great night on Saturday night.
Life is flying by, but it's so gooooooood.
Last night was Sutton Creek's first couple's fun night, and I must say that it was great! The new Director of Golf (DOG) is so involved and really knows that it takes to make an event a success... let's review...
#1 (in no particular order) - affordable. The game that we played only cost $5 for us members, and it included a cart!
#2 The game was fun! It was a 3/3/3 format with a shotgun start. I can understand why only 3 holes are played alternate shots as it can easily result in divorce. Billy and I aren't so great at alternate shot...
#3 You are paired randomly and get to meet new couples.
#4 The score really didn't matter as it was a blind draw for cash. It gives everyone a chance to win!
#5 Brian (DOG) had a Mike's Hard rep on the 16th hole giving out free samples of Mike's Margarita, Mojito and the new Pink Lemonade. Yum! He also gave away coupons for a free one at the LCBO
#6 There was a CTP game as well - Billy and I both won!
#7 There was a Mexican Fiesta theme. Very festive indeed. The food was amazing!
It was just a good night at Sutton Creek.
Billy and I won the CTP and we both received a bag from Mike's Hard (like a little reusable shopping bag - very cute!) and inside was a hat, a shirt, 2 free Margarita coupons and 2 free coupons for 6 packs of beer from the Beer Store! Hells yeah! So anyways, Billy was checking out the contents of the bag and pulled out a rather small shirt... he then was (easily) goaded into taking off his golf shirt (yes, in the dining room, seated at the table) and put on the ultra small tight woman's shirt. It was pretty darned funny!
Although there is a weekly couple's league on Friday nights, these special themed nights are going to be once a month. Perfect.
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I'm so looking forward to today and tonight! I'm going to redeem some of our free stuff, buy big ole steaks and hit the hardware store for some tomato plants, green peppers and some herbs (not all of the ones I grew from seed turned out...) It looks like a pretty nice day to play in the yard (finish the pond!) and in the garden. (William is golfing, btw) Then tonight - big ole steak, wine, (no hot tub... closed it up last week) and watch some DVR'd shows and of course the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals!
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Can you tell? Life is good!
Last night was the first Christmas party that I attended this year. It was for all the ladies of Sutton Creek, and although the turnout was only about 2 dozen women, I had an excellent time. I think the ladies enjoyed the firemen coming to the party to pick up the toy donations. I know I did!
(I just realized after inserting this picture, that I'm wearing the same shirt as I was in my profile pic from Cleveland... I guess I should have more than one favorite... oh well...)
It was so nice to see everyone. It's surprising how different people look without hats, suntans and ponytails, and with make-up, nice clothing and jewelry.
I know it's hard for a large group of people to get together (sometimes it's hard for a small group...), but I think we should all make more of an effort to see people we like and care about.
There are a few more Christmas events on the horizon:
- Billy's work party, which this year is back at Pointe West. I love the parties at Pointe West. Last year it was at the Windsor Club, which was nice, but the best part was going to a friends' house in Windsor beforehand... they had a huge spread for us, and a perfect area to socialize... awesome.
- We have Kiks' annual party, which was recently pushed back to the 20th, and is perfect as more people can attend on that date. It is always a highlight of the season, (and Kiks' birthday too) Most fun indeed!
- Get a Christmas tree. Billy has been so busy at work, and working week-ends, that we haven't even broached the subject of going to Sloane's to pick one out.
- Billy and I go visiting people (uh, and bars) on Christmas Eve day. Always so much fun!
I love this time of year.
If you don't care about local golf, then by all means skip this post...
So, today I played in a 9 hole tournament at Essex. They have hosted mens' senior PGA event as well as an LPGA event, , and is known as the oldest in the area & the most exclusive. It was the last private course in Essex County that I had to play. And I did... very badly...
First of all, it's not a particularly difficult course. It reminds me a lot of Beach Grove or even Roseland. Lots of trees, level fairways, water on 2 out of 9 holes and fast greens. No holes really stood out as beautiful, or particularly challenging. At one time I thought, 'oh, hey a dog leg, that's exciting'.
So why did I golf so poorly? I have lots of excuses. First of all, I will not drill 120 holes ever again the night before a big tournament. My right hand was so shaky I could barely keep score and still I can hardly type. Stupid. Secondly, the course was completely unfamiliar to me, and no one in our foursome had ever even played there before, (not like that really mattered, it was pretty straightforward). Nerves play a big part when you're in a tournament with people you know, let alone total strangers, and lastly, the greens were like putting on asphalt. Fast doesn't describe it, plus there is much more undulation in the greens than I'm used to. So there.
The club house reminds me of Beach Grove, but BG is actually a little nicer looking. Essex looks like there added additions haphazardly. I've heard wonderful things about the woodwork in the dining rooms, and I wasn't impressed. It felt old without the charm. There are so many little rooms and hallways, then big rooms and big hallways, there is no intimacy. I like that when you walk into Sutton Creek, it's not a maze. You wave to the bartender. You can look around and see everyone... same with Pointe West, but not so much at BG either.
The locker rooms were not close to what I expected. Pointe West has them beat without a doubt, and if anyone says different, I'd have to ask if they've actually seen Pointe West's locker room in the last 2 years... that's how obvious it is.
The bag drop off area was congested (yes it was a tournament) and I had to haul out my own clubs in front of about 50 women. Nice. The parking lot is angled weird, and not conducive to any type of flow.
The patio area at SC kicks Essex's ass. If you venture to the balcony at SC you are amazed by the beauty. You can sit in the sun or shade, and out of the rain. There's the fire pit and the waterfall... so nice... Essex does have a ton of mature trees everywhere, but that's about it.
SC is way more challenging and especially interesting. We do have a f'ugly back shop located not discreetly off the 17th hole, and of course the Barn of Shame (the name seems to be catching on thankyouverymuch...) but in the scope of things Essex is a good 80 years older than Sutton.
A Fox Glen lover said to me today that she had no ambition to play Sutton Creek. 'It's a glorified Wildwood'. Wha? Huh? Well, how old are you? Why don't you play a course before you judge it? Are you kidding me? Yes, it's newer like WW, but, hello, we have par 5's and uh, no trailers! WW is little, tight and tough... but geez... I'd like to chat with the idiot that made that comparison. You stay at FG honey, you keep your flooded areas, dry fairways, 6 hour rounds with it's membership reaching a gazillion, I'll keep Sutton Creek and all it has to offer all to myself... thanks.
So, all in all, I'm glad I was able to play at Essex, but I appreciate Sutton Creek and its members even more now though... we definitely made the right decision for us.